Character

General

Grinawaeba was born to the service of the sea, and she longs for nothing more than to return to her seafaring lifestyle. Despite this she firmly believes that the Navigator has put her on the path she now walks, and that to break from it would be to dishonor the Twelve, her family, and herself. To that end she will walk all the lands of Ezoria until she understands the purpose that has been given to her and earns a chance to return to the life she once knew.

Appearance

Grina's skin is a light grayish blue, darkened and spotted by a lifetime under the sun and creased by the harshness of both the years and the weather. Her hair, which is a deep blue hue, is worn rather long. The hair around her face is done up in thin braids clasped in silver and gold to keep it out of her eyes with the rest left loose, to grow wilder as the day wears on. She is rarely seen without a large swatch of white face paint drawn over her cheeks and brow.

In stature Grina is somewhat shorter than the average Roegadyn woman, though what she lacks in height she makes up in the broadness of her shoulders and the width of her stance. Among others of her kind she’s considered downright stocky. That seems to come in handy for her these days as she favors a heavier set of plate than she once did. It may be quite obvious to most that she’s not entirely comfortable with all of that weight, and at times she seems somewhat off balance with it on.

The observant onlooker may note that most of her gear, from her clothes to her travel bags, are decorated with embroidery and elaborate stitching.

Behavior

Grinawaeba treats most people with the same friendly and abruptly affectionate manner regardless of their origins or temperament. She's an intensely honest individual, and it seems that very little gets under her skin, although when it does she is prone to long fits of sulking and general passive-aggressive hostility. Usually this doesn't last long as she typically forgives and forgets relatively quickly.

Dislikes

Red meat, wine, and bland food in general. (She tends to oversalt her food.)
Seeing folk being picked on or bullied, but particularly folks mistreating animals of any kind.
Being underground.

Hobbies/Talents

She’s a fair hand at both woodworking and knotworking, and would probably fare well as a carpenter or other tradesman if she tried her hand at it.
Enjoys playing games of pure chance or skill (dice or feats of strength), does not much care for games that require strategy.

Other

Has a habit of using generalized pet names for folks, or giving them silly nicknames.

Relationships

Family

Grinawaeba has three living siblings, an older brother named Styrmgaez and a two sisters, Merleita older by a few years and Eyriglac, several years Grina’s junior. Her mother, Frydwaen, is still around as well. She hasn’t had contact with them since Styrmgaez left her in Limsa Lominsa a couple years back. Before the calamity she was quite close to both her brothers, Styrmgaez and Rymmbyrt. Her father, Wylfryn, was also fairly close to his middle daughter prior to his death, and his possible favoritism may be what drove a wedge between her and Styrmgaez.

Friends

At this point Grina doesn’t have very many folks she’d consider close friends, although she has a few reasonably close acquaintances in and around Limsa Lominsa. Recently she’s made the acquaintance of another Roegadyn by the name of Thundering Hammer, and while the two don’t know each other all that well Grina has a good feeling about the Hellsguard.

Enemies

Grina probably has more rivalries than enemies, but if she were to consider anyone an outright enemy it would be her older brother, Styrmgaez. Even then, it would take very little for her to agree to put their hostilities behind them. After all, he is family.

Rumors

Common Rumors

“That one over there, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her out of that armor. Doubt she even washes it!”
“She’s obviously a sailor, I don’t know why she hasn’t sailed out in all these months.”

Moderate Rumors

“I knew her crew when they used to put in here at port. They used to trade some pretty good cloth, and usually a smattering of other things too.”
“I’ve seen her out by the docks just staring at the ships. Girl needs a hobby.”
“She was gabbin’ with a bunch of folks in the Wench the other night, first time I’ve seen her not sittin’ by herself in here.”

Rare Rumors

“I know a guy, that is cousins with a fella that says he heard her and her brother arguin’ the night before they pulled out of port and marooned her here. Somethin’ goin’ on there.”

History/Timeline

Grinawaeba hails from one of the smaller islands in the north seas, a nearly inhospitable rock that was rather difficult to access without knowledge of its treacherous and stormy waters. It was for this very reason that Grina's grandfather settled there with his small crew of raiders. Although the practice of raiding had mostly (mostly) been phased out during the time of Grinawaeba's father their clan chose to remain on the inhospitable island that they had come to call the Wolf’s Tooth (Wilfzant).

On Wilfzant Grina enjoyed a rugged, yet happy childhood surrounded by her siblings and cousins. Her mother and elder sister produced intricate textiles from the family's herd of hearty sheep while Grina chose instead to join her father and older brothers in plying their trade over the oceans. Although sometimes they did resort to intimidation, perhaps rather forceful intimidation, they mostly dealt with ferrying folk through troubled waters, protecting larger merchant ships against more violent seafarers, and trading her family’s cloth goods once they got into port.

During the Calamity the merchant ship that they had been accompanying was overturned, and in the efforts to save what the could of the other ship’s crew both Grina’s eldest brother and her father were drowned along with several other members of the crew. Their overburdened and badly damaged ship was able to limp back to Limsa Lominsa, though supplies ran out towards the end of the trip and several others died due to dehydration or illness.

After this incident they recovered the best they could, rebuilding their ship and hiring on new crewmembers to replace the dead at the oars. That was how Grina found herself in second command to her other brother, Styrmgaez. While the two had gotten along famously when they were both just crewmates, but soon enough they discovered that they fought constantly as captain and first mate. Finally Styrmgaez had enough, and one morning a few months ago Grina woke to find herself abandoned in Limsa Lominsa.

Rather than give into the anger and betrayal she decided that this was an omen from her gods, a sign from Llymlaen that the winds were changing, and that it was time to take things in a new direction. Learning to fight on the solid ground instead of a rolling deck takes time, and it's not something she's really mastered as of yet. These days she pays just as much homage to Oschon as she once did to Llymlaen, figuring the pair represent her bonds to land and sea fairly well. She also favors Halone just as much as she always did, offering prayers and seeking her guidance before battle.

If Grina has any goal these days it's to see more of the world, to gain fame and perhaps a little fortune, and to make friends and allies that will truly appreciate her. She can be stubborn, bossy, and generally loud, but she means well most of the time. Grinawaeba has largely pursued a more noble lifestyle than she had previously, as she believes that some of the morally ambiguous things her crew did after Styrmgaez took over were the reason the Twelve lead her to be marooned by her crew. If she can redeem herself then perhaps Llymlaen will guide her back to the sea once more.